Product & Procurement Manager - Clothing

Arco is the UK’s leading Health and Safety Specialist. A family owned company with revenues over £280m, Arco provide the UK’s best companies with market leading health and safety products and services.

Arco are at a truly exciting time in their history and are investing in every aspect of their business to significantly grow sales, become a great place to work and to take a Digital First proposition to market.

About the Role:

Reporting into the Clothing & Footwear Category Manager, the Product & Procurement Manager for Clothing will be responsible for own label product development and managing a portfolio of leading brands, assisted by a team of assistant product managers and garment technologists.

The successful candidate will have a strong understanding and experience of managing clothing sourcing & supply chains globally with the ability to lead their team to deliver a product or range from initial concept through to development and successful launch.

In addition to overseeing product development, the role also requires strong negotiation and supplier management skills with experience of managing a diverse range of suppliers globally as well as managing a portfolio of well known brands to achieve agreed sales & revenue targets.

The role will require close collaboration with key stakeholders at all levels of the organisation including sales & marketing, supply chain and customer experience, as well as providing support in the field to sales colleagues and clients.

Ability to manage critical paths to tight deadlines and work under pressure is crucial to the success of the role.

This is an exciting opportunity for anyone that has a proven track record sourcing clothing and managing a diverse portfolio of supplier relationships globally. 

Responsibilities:

• Select & develop product ranges, vendors & brands that return the required sales and profit expectations
• Manage vendors to gain competitive advantage and high level of performance through advanced negotiation and relationship management skills
• Identify sales opportunities through future legislation changes
• Set product specifications and maintain product technical files to ensure all products are legally compliant
• Provide product expertise to arco sales teams and customers

Experience Required:

The successful Product & Procurement Manager must have the following skills and experience: 

• Experienced in clothing development, previous experience of hazardwear including Hi-Visibility/Flame Retardant garments an advantage. Applicants with a background in workwear, casualwear, outerwear, corporate clothing, technical textiles and other associated industries will also be considered
• Experience of working within a dynamic and commercially focused team
• Experience of managing complex supplier negotiations
• Role requires extensive travel Globally visiting suppliers, exhibitions, product launches and supporting sales colleagues and end users in UK
• Degree or equivalent professional qualification 

Our comprehensive benefits include:

• excellent pension and life assurance scheme
• bonus scheme
• a bike scheme, through our network of dealers
• health purchase plan
• 24 days’ annual leave + holiday purchase scheme
• Community Volunteering days – two days’ paid leave annually to volunteer for a project or charity that means the most to you.